Means for controlling the supply of oxygen to blowpipes



April 12, 1932. F. s. AUSTIN 1,853,329.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SUPPLY OF OXYGEN TO BLOWPIPES Filed Axig. 15, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SUPPLY OF OXYGEN TO BLOWPIPES Filed Aug. 15, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I 2J- xxx xxx

= a R I 3a 37 3% 34 wgwtwntoz fxwna' 61 F083??? Patented Apr. 12, 1932 UNITED" sraTE-s PATENT OFFICE" FRANCIS S. AUSTIN, OF.PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO CARBO-OXYGEN COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SUPPLY OF OXYGEN TO BLOWPIPES 7 Application filed August '13, 1928.- Serial No. 299,157.

This invention relates to'blowpipes, and more particularly to the means for controlling the supply of cutting oxygen thereto. The general purpose and object of the invention is to provide a blowpipe of this character with oxygen-supply valve-operating means which willenable the said valve to be adjusted accurately to accommodate the supply of cutting oxygen to varying metals as well as to varying thicknesses and conditions of the metals being cut. A further object of the invention is to provide valve-operating means for controlling the supply of such oxygen which will insure the valve being retained in its adjusted position, therebysecuring a steady flow of oxygen, whatever may be the pressure under which it is supplied. A still further object of the invention is to provide an operating means of the character referred to which is compact, simple of construction, and economical of production, as well as one'which may be conveniently associated with the valve blocks of existing types of blowpipes.

I accomplish the foregoing objects in and through the construction and arrangement of parts shown in the drawings, wherein Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevation of a blowpipe embodying my invention, the said pipe beingof the straight type, such as is em-v ployed with cutting machines; Fig. 2 a detail in elevation of the valve block and a part of the handle casing, the view being, taken at right angles to that shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 8 a detail in section corresponding to the line 33 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 a development in elevation of the cam wheel for operating the oxygen valve.

Describing the various parts by reference characters, A represents a valve block to the front of which is secured a tubular handle B, the front end of which'fits over the head C of the blowpipe.

' oxygen, preheating oxygen, and combustible. 3

The rear end of the blowpipe head is pro vided with sockets into which the'ends of the pipes are inserted which convey cutting the rear of the head. One of the other pipes is indicated at 3, the said pipe. conducting combustible gas through a port 3 to an an.-

nular chamber 4 surrounding an injector plug 5 from which chamber gas is conducted through ports 5 to the central bore of said plug. The pipe 6 for preheating oxygen conducts such oxygen from the valve block to an annular chamber 8 surrounding the rear portion of the plug 5, whence it is delivered through ports 9 to the central bore 7, the mixture being delivered from such central bore into a passage 10 and thence to a chamber 11 in the head, whence it is distributed through appropriate passages formed between inner and outer members of a tip, indicated atD, to the preheating orifices (not shown) at the operating end of said tip. The cutting oxygen is delivered through a passage 12 to a central bore in the tip D. The

details of the tip in themselves form no part gf the invention intended to be covered here- The valve block will now be described in more detail, and particularly the means for supplying cutting oxygen therefrom through the tube 1 to the blowpipe head. The block, indicated at A, is provided with threaded connections 13 and 14 to which oxygen and com.- bustible gas are respectively supplied through appropriate tubing (not shown). The oxygen from the connection 13 is delivered into a chamber 13 from which a passage 15 leads to a chamber 16 havinga valve seat 17 in its bottom arranged to be closed by a ball valve 18 which is pressed to its seat by alight spring 19, the lower end of the spring engaging the ball and the upper end of the spring being seated in a cap 20 which is threaded into the top of the chamber. From the chamber 16 a short passage 21 delivers the preheating oxygen to a chamber 22,.the supply of oxygen to such chamber being controlled by a valve 23 threaded into the chamber and having a conical end cooperating with the valve seat formed at the chamber end of the passage 21. From the chamber 22, the preheating oxygen is delivered through a short port 24 to a bore which communicates with the pipe 6 conducting the oygen to the head C and to the annular chamber 8.

At the top of the chamber 13 is a valve seat which is adapted to be closed by a valve 26 within the chamber 13 and having a stem 27 extending through a smaller chamber 28 above the chamber 13*, the said stem also extending through the top of the valve block,

the escape of the gas around the outer end of the stem being prevented by packing 29 and a locking plug 30. The upper end of the stem is arranged to be engaged by the valve operating means referred to hereinbefore and which will be described in detail hereinafter. From the chamber 28, a passage 31 conducts cutting oxygen to the pipe 1.

The ordinary manner of operating the valve.

26 is by means of a lever having its rear end pivoted between lugs 32 extending rearwardly from the valve block, the said lever extending across the top of the valve stem 27. lVhen it is desired to open the valve, the operator grasps the handle B, with the lever interposed between the palm of the hand and the handle. Then, by closing the hand, the lever is pressed downwardly toward the handle, unseating the valve 26 against the action of the spring 26* and allowing cutting oxygen to pass around the valve 26 and into the chamber 28 andthe passage 31. This construction and arrangement of the valve operating means possesses the disadvantage that it is extremely difficult to adjust the valve to any position other than its wide-open position and to maintain. a steady flow of oxygen past the valve for any such intermediate position of the same. This makes it practically impossible to operate a blowpipe in such manner as to accommodate the rate of discharge of cutting oxygen to the varying character of work to be performed, such as the varying thickness of the metal and the varying conditions of the metal. For instance, thick metal and dirty or rusty metal, or metal with cracks or seams therein, will require a greater amount of cutting oxygen than will thinner metal or metal of the same thickness but free from dirt, rust and cracks.

In order to overcome these objections I have provided the following construction 33 denotes a threaded stem having at its bottom a lug which may be inserted between the lugs 32 and secured therebetween by means of a pin 34, thus enabling my construction to replace the valve-operating levers provided on some of the existing types of blowpipes. Threaded on the stem is a cam wheel 35 hav-. ing a cam surface 36 on the underside thereof, the development of which cam is shown particularly in Fig. 4. This cam surface, as will appear from Fig. 4, extends nearly entirely around the bottom of the cam wheel, being of sufficient height at the end 36 to receive therewithin the upper end of the valve stem 27 without depressing the latter and being provided with a stop surface 36 at the end 36 adapted to engage the valve stem, thereby to limit the closing movement of the cam wheel. At the opposite end of the cam surface is a stop pin 37 which is adapted to engage the valve stem 27 to limit the opening movement of the cam wheel.

lVith the parts constructed and arranged as described, it will be apparent that, when it is desired to open the valve 26, the operator merely turns the cam wheel in the appropriate direction, as by means of a handle 38, thereby depressing the stem 27 and opening the valve 26 to the desired extent. By mounting the cam wheel on the threaded stem 33, a double adjustment is obtained; that is to say, the action of the cam is increased or multiplied by the fact that the cam itself moves downwardly and upwardly on the stem, thereby permitting the use of a cam surface having a smaller angle of inclination than would be necessary were the cam wheel not mounted on the threaded stem. Furthermore, by virtue of mounting the cam wheel upon a threaded stem, the cam wheel is retained in its adjusted position, without the necessity for any means for looking it in place, the threaded engagement between the cam and the stem preventing any rotation of the cam due to the thrust of the valve stem thereon.

It will be obvious that the valve operating means disclosed herein is extremely simple and compact; is capable of ready application to existing valve blocks; that it is inexpensive of production; and that it accomplishes efficiently the purpose for which it is intended.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is A valve block provided with a passage for block, a stem having a lug secured to and between the first mentioned lugs, and a wheel mounted on said stem, the said wheel being provided with an extended cam surface on the side presented toward said block and adapted to engage the projecting end of the valve stem and to move the same in a direction to unseat the valve gradually by the rotation of the said Wheel.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

' FRANCIS S. AUSTIN. 

